Process for binding together coated manifold sheets



H. T. BRANER May 16, 1967 PROCESS FOR BINDING TOGETHER COATED MANIFOLD SHEETS Fiied Sept. 9, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVE NTOR HOWARD T. BRANER BY M a 41 4,- w im HIS ATTORNEYS May 16, 1967 H. T. BRANER PROCESS FOR BINDING TOGETHER COATED MANIFOLD SHEETS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 9, 1963 United States Patent M 3 320 109 PROCESS FOR BINDING TGGETHER COATED MANIFOLD SHEETS Howard T. Braner, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio, 21 corporation of Maryland Filed Sept. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 307,583 2 Claims. (Cl. 1562-52) This invention relates to a method for joining together two or more manifold sheets or webs having their adjacent coacting surfaces coated with a coating which effectively prevents any adhesive from reaching the fiber structure of the manifold webs.

As disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,712,507, issued to Barrett K. Green on July 5, 1955, a manifold record material is coated on one of its surfaces with inkcontaining capsules which, under printing or writing pressures, will rupture, releasing the ink contained therein to an underlying surface of a sheet coated with an acid-clay like material such as attapulgite. In the preparation of continuous business forms which in the manufacturing state consists of joining a number of sheets or Webs of manifold paper together, the method of joining consists of gluing the webs together along their edges. Because of the inability of the glue to penetrate the coating contained in the mating surfaces of the webs, it was impossible to provide a bond between the webs suflicient to hold up under ordinary handling conditions. In an attempt to solve this problem, various methods were tried, including scraping the coating along the glue track, but the residue created interfered with the alignment of the webs, and the time required to accomplish this operation effectively prevented any high-speed production of the continuous business forms. Thus it is an object of this invention to provide a method for continuously gluing two or more webs of manifold material together in the formation of continuous business forms whose mating surfaces contain an adhesive-resistant coating.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel method for the bonding together of portions of two mating surfaces of manifold material each having an adhesiveresistant coating where each manifold material is continuously moving at a relatively high rate of speed.

The invention will be more fully understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the steps of a method of producing continuous business forms consisting of two or more manifold sheets whose mating surfaces have an adhesive-resistant coating.

FIG. 2 is a partial detailed view of a typical continuous business form, showing its construction.

FIG. 3 is a partial diagrammatic view of the knurled edge-embossing wheel acting on a web of manifold material during the production of continuous business forms.

FIG. 4 is a sectional detailed lengthwise view of the glue tracks of an assembled business form, showing the ruptured areas of the manifold material and their interaction with the adhesive element.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a coated surface area of each manifold web is ruptured at a plurality of small areas, producing a number of serrations which expose the fiber content of the manifold material. The serrated areas of each manifold web are then aligned, an adhesive is applied to this area, and pressure is then used to join the webs together. The serrations are produced by a wheel having its edge embossed with a plurality of tooth portions, producing a knurled effect. The use of the wheel allows for the production of the serrations fold web. The

3,326,169 Patented May 16, 1967 as the webs of material are continuously moving at a relatively high rate of speed.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic diagram of a process for forming a business form consisting of two webs of manifold material. Each of the manifold webs 20, 21 is unwound from a supply roll 22 and fed through a series of processing stations over guide rollers 24. The upper surface of the manifold web has applied to it a clay coating, while the lower surface of the manifold web 21 has a coating of pressure-rupturable ink-containing capsules in accordance with the teaching of the above-cited Green United States patent. The webs are continuously advanced past a first station, where pinfeed apertures 25 (FIG. 2) are punched along a marginal edge by the wheel 26 to allow the form to be fed by the business machine in which it is used. At the next station, the manifold webs are guided over a back roll 27, where they are engaged by a second wheel 28, having a plurality of cutting heads 29. The cutting heads 29 perforate the manifold web along a line indicated at 30 in FIG. 2 adjacent the apertures 25, thus providing a line of weakening, which allows the manifold webs to be separated from the marginal edge when so desired. Mounted adjacent the wheel 28 is an embossing wheel 31, which ruptures the manifold webs in a plurality of minute areas, producing a number of serrations 32 (FIG. 2) along a track positioned between the line of weakening 30 and the pin-feed apertures 25. As shown more clearly in FIG. 3, the embossing wheel 31 has a series of raised tooth portions 33, which provide a knurled effect on the edge of the wheel 31. The teeth 33 are relatively dull, thus creating a tearing action when engaging the manifold webs. The embossing wheel 31 is so adjusted that the teeth 33 barely break through the lower edge of the maniaction of the teeth 33 in breaking through the coating 34 (FIG. 4) exposes the paper fibers 35 of the manifold web.

Located adjacent the manifold strip 21 is a supply roll 36 of the thermoplastic glue 40, which is fed to a heated applicator unit 37 by means of the drive rollers 38. The glue is applied in a heated state along the track of serrations 32 of the manifold web 21, which then is aligned and joined with the serrated track of the manifold web 20 by the action of a pressure pad 39, forcing the glue into the serrations 32 (FIG. 4) of both webs. As shown in FIG. 4, the glue 40, upon entering the serrations 32, contact and make a mechanical bond with the exposed paper fibers 35 of the web material. It has been found that perfect registration of the ruptured areas 32 of each web is not critical and that a bonding effect occurs when both ruptured areas are out of alignment in a lengthwise direction by the greatest width of the serration 32.

The manifold webs 20, 21, after being bonded together, are subsequently provided with a transverse weakened severance line similar to the line 30 at longitudinallyspaced intervals therealong, dividing the webs into form lengths or record sheets.

It is obvious that the use of the embossing wheel 31 allows the manifold webs 20, 21 to move continuously at a relatively high speed. Rupturing the web coating with the use of the tooth portions 33, so as to produce a plurality of serrations, eliminates the problem of residue, thus allowing for a continuous assembly operation of the business forms.

Although the glue tracks are usually located as described, they can, of course, be placed anywhere desired, on both sides of the perforations or pin-feed apertures, or apart therefrom.

Since certain changes may be made in the above arrangement, and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof,

it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of providing a mechanical bond between the edge portions of two substantially continuous sheets of fibrous materials whose mating surfaces contain a coating material that resists penetration of liquid adhesive into the fibrous content of both sheets including the steps of (a) continuously advancing each sheet of fibrous material at a relativelyhigh rate of speed;

(b) rupturing each sheet and its coating material along one edge portion by means of a knurled roller, said rupture consisting of a large number of minute serrations penetrating the coating and the fibrous content of each sheet sufliciently to prevent the accumulation of any residue on said sheets and to allow the flow' serrations of both sheets to form a continuous me chanical bond between the fibrous content of one sheet to the fibrous content of the other sheet.

2. The method of claim 1 in which said knurled roller contains on its peripheral surface a plurality of relatively dull tooth elements which provide a tearing action through the coating and the fibrous content of said sheets when so applied to faciliate more readily the flow of adhesive through the coating into the fibrous content of both sheets and to eliminate the accumulation of any residue in both sheets.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,565,532 12/1925 Tupper 156153 2,395,077 2/1946 Southwick 156252 2,609,315 9/1952 Engel 156153 2,722,369 11/1955 Reuter 22969 EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

D. J. DRUMMOND, Assistant Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF PROVIDING A MECHANICAL BOND BETWEEN THE EDGE PORTIONS OF TWO SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS SHEETS OF FIBROUS MATERIALS WHOSE MATING SURFACES CONTAIN A COATING MATERIAL THAT RESISTS PENETRATION OF LIQUID ADHESIVE INTO THE FIBROUS CONTENT OF BOTH SHEETS INCLUDING THE STEPS OF (A). CONTINUOUSLY ADVANCING EACH SHEET OF FIBROUS, MATERIAL AT A RELATIVELY HIGH RATE OF SPEED; (B) RUPTURING EACH SHEET AND ITS COATING MATERIAL ALONG ONE EDGE PORTION BY MEANS OF A KNURLED ROLLER, SAID RUPTURE CONSISTING OF A LARGE NUMBER OF MINUTE SERRATIONS PENETRATING THE COATING AND THE FIBROUS CONTENT OF EACH SHEET SUFFICIENTLY TO PREVENT THE ACCUMULATION OF ANY RESIDUE ON SAID SHEETS AND TO ALLOW THE FLOW OF AN APPLIED ADHESIVE IN A LIQUID STATE INTO THE FIBROUS CONTENT; (C) COLLATING THE RUPTURED SHEETS WITH AN INTERVENING STRAND OF A HOT THERMOPLASTIC ADHESIVE BETWEEN THE SERRATED PORTIONS OF THE MATING SHEETS; (D) AND THEN APPLYING PRESSURE TO THE SERRATED PORTIONS OF THE MATING SHEETS TO FORCE THE ADHESIVE THROUGH THE SERRATIONS OF BOTH SHEETS TO FORM A CONTINUOUS MECHANICAL BOND BETWEEN THE FIBROUS CONTENT OF ONE SHEET TO THE FIBROUS CONTENT OF THE OTHER SHEET. 